Horses and Relationship …

This cyber world is a reasonably new world to me so please accompany me as I begin this new journey into the abyss!

Today I would like to begin a discussion on horses. What is it that attracts us to horses? And indeed, what is it that attracts us specifically to the horses we love?

It is my belief that relationships are no accident. Like everything in life, nothing passes without meaning or significance, whether we know it or not, both our animals choose us and we choose our animals. And the subconscious reasons for our choices may at first not become apparent!

Ever had the experience where after falling madly in love with someone, you are left sometime down the track with the feeling of “why on earth did I ever choose to be with that person?”!! Well, I’ve seen the same can apply to our horses. Sometimes we choose our horses for perfectly good reasons…. they are quiet, or great dressage potential, or highly trained, or quite frankly – just BEAUTIFUL to look at and admire! Sometime down the track however, literally, that same beautiful or perfectly suited horse, becomes the horse we cannot stand to be around or the horse that pushes all our buttons! Why is this so…?

Well, I have a few thoughts on the matter. What if the horse we chose, was those things we admired… but were also those things we secretly pushed away from ourselves. The very responsible person who falls immediately in love with the wild and outgoing free spirited horse. Or the loose, casual rider who loves a horse that greets them in a prim and proper, standing to attention way. What if the very things we like in our horses, are the very things we have disowned in ourselves?

Sometimes we choose our horses for reasons we are not aware of, and it is our opportunity to explore these reasons as the relationship deepens.

Our horses are complete beings in and of themselves, with a wide range of thoughts, feelings, emotions, past experiences and dreams of their own. Like any relationship, we have seen this to be the case. And we know that our first attractions are never really the complete picture. Our horses like us are deep, complex and varied. And it takes a long time to truly know them in their beauty and fullness, their full spectrum. Slowly as we get to know their personality, we begin to touch on the individual essence of this horse. We are priviledged to explore the innate nature of this being, and get to know them on an individual and intimate basis. And that means their full spectrum of personality traits! Some of which we will gel with, and some of which we won’t!

This is relationship. To me, this is the journey we embark on when we befriend a horse. And it is a glorious journey of discovery….

I have discovered that the more I spend time with horses, others or my own, that when I apply this humble openness to our connection, the more deeply personal my relationship becomes. Deeply personal in ways that can be almost instant. A fleating touch, a silent momentary conversation or over the time period of an hour while I am treating a horse. To me, when I approach a horse with a sense of open enquiry, I am gifted the possibility of connecting on a deeper level and I am also gifted the possibility of learning more about myself.

Sometimes it is the things that most annoy us about our horses, that can be the most precious messages for ourselves. We can use this technique of stepping back, not assuming and being open to the possibility of what is, to help us learn in our relationships with our horses.

I hope you have enjoyed my first exploration of relating with horses…. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts or if you have had other experiences related to this or any other topics on relating to horses.